Where Our Hearts Are
by BlossomOfEdelweiss
Summary: Just some short little vignettes that I wrote up about what Elsa, Maria, and Georg were thinking during the party and beyond about what was happening between the three of them. This is my first TSOM fanfic so go gently on me, lol. Disclaimer: I own none of these characters and do not claim them as my own. They belong to 20th Century Fox and I am only writing for the fun of it.
1. Chapter 1

**Elsa**

Elsa stood by Georg as all the guests arrived, greeting each one with a graceful smile. She kept glancing at him. He was standing right beside her, but he seemed to be a million miles away. She saw him uneasily studying Herr Zeller as he entered his villa. She knew his feelings about the Nazi regime, but she desperately hoped that tonight would not end with them arguing and coming to blows with one another. She didn't bother herself with politics and her stance was similar to Max's, though she was more careful not to discuss it with Georg. She cared too much about him to make it an issue between the two of them. The couple of times the subject was broached she quickly backed off and dropped the topic like a hot potato. It generally wasn't a topic that women discussed with men anyways.

As the receiving line slowly dissipated Elsa was cornered by an older couple who began to engage her in a rather lengthy conversation. Not wanting to be rude she stayed and talked with them as Georg excused himself, saying that he should go and mingle with the guests. She slowly raised her eyebrow at him hoping that he could read her mind to rescue her, but he seemed oblivious to her expressions and preoccupied. She felt a twinge of annoyance with him for leaving her there. _If I had been Maria,_ she thought, _'no, I can't allow myself to go there._ She turned back to the older couple as he slowly strolled away, heading for the ballroom. He seemed all to eager to depart from her and she couldn't help but wonder what his game was since he had already told her earlier how uncomfortable he was at big fancy parties with people he rarely had contact with, but felt obligated to invite. She marveled at his statement because it seemed to be such a contrast from the Georg she had met in Vienna. He was different here in his own home, different with the children that he had barely talked about at the various parties they had attended and who she barely knew the names of because he never mentioned them and she had never bothered to ask. When she first met them she had to stifle a laugh as they climbed out of the lake soaking wet after the boat had tipped over from the excitement of seeing that their father had returned. After he scolded them and sent them all inside he kept his governess behind to talk with her. She saw the wave of anger wash over his face and decided to quickly excuse herself. She could hear him start to chastise her as she climbed the steps into the villa and then to her surprise she heard the feminine voice of Maria rise back at him. She never would have dared to raise her voice at him like that, but there was something different about the governess that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Georg had told her that she was a postulant from the nearby abbey, but had neglected to tell her how young and vibrant she was _and beautiful,_ she thought. She had suddenly felt a little uneasy, but couldn't pinpoint why. She had shaken it off as the children had entered the parlor and began singing for her. She looked up when she heard a rich male voice join the children's. That she decided, was the moment she had first seen a change in him. She saw him look at the door where Maria had just ducked out of sight and he headed for her to give what she assumed was an apology for his behavior.

She smiled and nodded at the couple standing in front of her, politely answering back to them when needed, but her mind kept wandering back to Georg and the differences she had witnessed in his behavior over the past few weeks. It was like she barely knew him now and her mind shifted from Georg to the governess that seemed to be occupying Georg's thoughts of late. A few nights after Georg and Maria's reconciliation of sorts the kids put on a puppet show. Fraulein was fantastic and her energy permeated the room and delighted not only the children, but seemingly Georg as well. As the show ended Georg approached her to compliment her efforts, but there was something else in the way he looked at her for those brief few moments that stirred something in Elsa. His attention had suddenly been drawn away from her and she saw him realize that perhaps his gaze had lingered on his governess just a bit too long. She had let her frustration out with a quick witted comment that she couldn't help but let slip. Georg had a funny look on his face, but refrained from commenting. She felt that same stirring again as she watched him say yes to her pleading eyes for a song and she couldn't help but wonder if he would have done the same for her had she asked. She pushed it out of her head trying to tell herself that he was doing it for his children, but then he started singing and as he sat down his gaze once again turned to his governess with a slight smile gracing his lips. She looked up to see Maria return his smile and melt into the wall with a dreamy look on her face. She knew that even though this woman might not realize it, that the governess was falling to the charms of Georg Ritter Von Trapp. She looked at Georg trying desperately to gain eye contact with him, but as the song ended he once again looked to Maria with a much more intense gaze this time and then shrugged his shoulders at her and smiled. Her heart felt a light panic about it and she quickly decided to step in to gain his attention once more, suggesting that they have this party where she had now been stuck at with an older couple for the past 7 minutes. They finally let her go to join the others on the dance floor and Elsa sighed as a sense of relief flooded over her that she had finally been freed to go and find Georg.

She glanced into the ballroom, but didn't see his presence anywhere. _Now where could he have gone,_ she thought. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw movement from the outdoor terrace. She knew the children were out there watching, having been told to stay out of the ballroom during the party, but they had been given permission to watch from the doors. Perhaps he had gone out to check on them. She crossed the ballroom being careful not to get in the way of those dancing the Laendler Waltz, a courtship dance that often ended in a kiss from ones dance partner. _I should be dancing this with Georg,_ she thought, but she still hadn't spotted him anywhere until she reached the doors to the terrace and she suddenly felt her heart stop. There in the middle of the terrace was Georg and his governess dancing together. The stirring of emotions overwhelmed her with a vengeance and she now recognized it as a pang of jealousy. As she watched them twirl around there bodies getting closer to one another her breath got caught in her throat and the thought occurred to her for the first time that these two were falling in love with each other. She watched them as there gazes intensified and she couldn't help but wonder if he would kiss her at the end like the dance called for. She almost turned away not wanting to see, but found herself watching as Maria slowly backed away from him probably fearing the fiery emotions that they had obviously just been feeling for one another. She looked pale except for the rush of red slowly creeping onto her cheeks. Georg just stood there stunned into a speechless state. His daughter spoke first pointing out Fraulein's red face and he smiled endearingly at Maria. It was the first time she realized that he was most definitely in love with his governess. She broke through their thoughts and said out loud, "Why that was beautifully done. What a lovely couple you make." It was meant to embarrass him and she could see by the look on his face that it had worked. Georg's head quickly snapped away from Maria, a guilty expression on his face and he rapidly changed the subject by suggesting it was time for the children to say goodnight. As they all scurried off he grabbed her arm and led her back inside, trying to get away from what just happened, but she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"All that needless worrying Georg and you thought you wouldn't find a friend a the party." She saw him glance back knowing that he was still thinking about her and it hurt deep down inside of her. She heard him make an effort again to change the subject.

"A bit chilly out tonight isn't it?"

"Oh I don't know, it seemed a bit warm to me." She could see his sheepish, nervous, I got caught grin out of the corner of her eye and then he turned to her and smiled with the nod of his head. The conversation ended there as the voice of the one they were speaking of inadvertently announced that the children wished to say goodnight to everyone. Georg grabbed her hand and hurriedly rushed them to the front of the crowd. She noticed Maria had taken up a position of trying to hide, be it not so well, behind a pillar, but was still in the line of sight of Georg. The children sang beautifully and she had the sense that even though Georg was standing right beside her, his mind was still outside on the terrace. She could tell that he was making every effort possible to not look at Maria, but as the song came to the end of Gretl's part he broke that resolve and gave a quick glance and smile in her direction, but her focus was on the children and he looked back up at them as they headed off to bed and everyone else waved goodbye. They were out of sight and she turned to Georg, but his attention and eyes were now fully on Maria and she was starring back at him, both of them looked as if they were trying to convey something to the other, but didn't know what. Georg's faced showed signs of shock and concern and almost a pleading look of understanding to Maria while Maria's face was masked with confusion and unanswered questions. They both looked like they were trying to figure out what had just happened, but Elsa knew what had happened, they had just connected on a level that she and Georg had never done before. She didn't want to lose him and suddenly started desperately searching her brain for a way to save her relationship with him. She saw Max step forward and grab Maria, _What is he up to,_ she thought. He then told Maria that she must stay as his dinner guest. Elsa's face dropped, how could he do that to her, surely he had noticed the interaction between the two as well.

Her question was answered when Max turned to him and said, "this is business." She knew he was going to try to use Maria to get Georg to let the children sing in public. She silently cursed him for putting her in this position. She didn't want Maria at the dinner taking up more of Georg's thoughts and she was fuming when Georg didn't deny the request. He was feigning indifference towards Maria, but she knew it was an act for her benefit. She turned to Georg to say something, but he was already engaged in another conversation. Then a thought began to emerge in her head and she quickly turned on her heels and headed up the stairs towards Maria's room. She wasn't quite sure what she would say, but she wanted to make it known to Maria that Georg belonged to her and was off limits.

She knocked on the door to Maria's room and was granted access. Maria looked confused and nervous.

She asked if she could help her and their conversation took a turn towards Maria not knowing what to wear. Here was her chance to let Maria know, she opened her mouth and told Maria to wear the dress she had worn when the Captain couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Maria dropped her head and she knew her words had hit her. She went on to tell her how she was in love with him and how he thought he was in love with her too, but that he would get over it, making sound like a short lived infatuation. In the end it was Maria who had decided to leave on her own accord. Elsa felt a small shock of guilt. The realization that this woman probably had never experienced any of these feelings before hit her hard like a brick wall and she noticed that Maria looked genuinely scared, petrified by the thought of them. Not knowing what to do she turned to leave when Maria refused help from her, promising not to mention any of this to the Captain. She didn't know what to think, but she had to get out of Maria's room and she walked back down the stairs wondering if what she had just done was the right thing to do. The soft pain stabbing her gut was short lived when she joined Max and informed him that she would be the one to influence Georg. She joined Georg on the dance floor quickly forgetting about Maria knowing that she had won this small battle and feeling triumphant that the one person standing in her way of marrying Georg was gone. Now his focus would be all on her once again...or so she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Maria**

Maria wandered about the garden keeping an inconspicuous profile and trying to keep her mind off of the party. She wondered what it would be like to be a part of such a huge affair and had to admit that she had been just as caught up in the excitement of it all as the children had been, but she knew her place was with the them. _The children,_ she thought, she was going to miss them a great deal at the end of summer when she would have to return to the abbey. This had been one of the most amazing adventures she had ever embarked on and she felt grateful to the Reverend Mother for giving her the opportunity to experience it, even though she had been reserved and nervous when told she was being sent away for the summer. A brief moment of melancholy swept over her at the thought of having to leave this home, these children, and their father who had shown her what a real family life was like. Soon the Captain would probably announce his engagement to Baroness Shraeder and her work here to prepare these children for a new mother would be complete. For some reason the thought of that was a bit unsettling and bothered her, but she couldn't identify why. She was happy for this family and silently marveled at how in such a short time they had learned to forgive and love again. Perhaps she had seen the biggest change occur in the Captain himself.

When they had first met she hadn't been prepared for what had been presented in front of her. He wasn't at all what she had conjured up in her mind a sea captain to look like. No novel out there could have accurately described him to her in her mind and she couldn't help but stare at him. Of course he had noticed her doing so and immediately called her out on it and of course she couldn't help but say what was exactly on her mind in that moment. His demeanor told her that he was a very strict and demanding individual, but she was determined to make sure that he understood that even though she was his employee that she expected a certain level of respect from him. She would not answer to a silly whistle and she had quickly put him in his place by blowing it at him. When he turned she could see something else in his eyes, pain and hurt, but he was working hard to hide it. From that moment she was determined that somehow she was going to help this family reconnect with one another and she had done just that, only she wouldn't take credit for it, that had been a miracle that only God could have performed in their hearts. She remembered that moment of transformation clearly as she tried to stay out of view, not wanting to interrupt a joyous moment of rediscovery between a father and his children. His face had shown so many emotions on it in a matter of seconds, regret, wonderment, amazement, and love. He had seen her though and she was happier than she had a right to be when he told her he wanted her to stay, no, had asked her to stay. She had run up the stairs, her brain filling with ideas for the next week's activities. Her heart was happy and filled with love for these children.

The last few weeks had gone by in a whirlwind and she had begun to feel things that she couldn't identify, but that made her excited and nervous. She tried to push them off, but they would reemerge every time her thoughts shifted to the Captain. She found that she enjoyed more and more the easy teasing banter that would occur between them from time to time and for some reason he made her slightly nervous whenever she was around him. He was way more handsome than she had ever imagined a sea captain to be and she got a glimpse of a side of him that he had been repressing for some time, a side of him that she found quite charming and drawn to. It was even more evident the night of the puppet show. There was something about the way that he had looked at her while singing Edelweiss that gave her the most wonderful nervous sensation in the pit of her stomach, an unidentifiable fluttering sensation. She saw something in his eyes that she hadn't noticed before when he looked at her. She didn't know what it was, but she had felt herself go weak in the knees and she had to lean against the wall to keep herself upright. As she listened to him sing everyone else around her had faded from existence and she felt a strange light headed sensation come over her that she didn't understand. The song ended and he was staring at her again in a way she hadn't noticed him do before. She was thankful when the Baroness had interrupted the moment and given her the opportunity to escort the children to bed. In the days following there had been other moments after that one when the two of them would catch each others eyes, leaving her barely able to breathe and slightly embarrassed. She couldn't help it, there was something about the sparkle of his deep blue eyes when he looked at her that left her mesmerized. These thoughts left her scared and confused and she tried to suppress them, but they kept bubbling to the surface anyways and left her feeling uncomfortable in the presence of the Baroness.

She made her way to the terrace and looked up, pleasantly surprised, to see Liesl and Friedrich dancing with one another. She teased them for not having told her that they could dance and then the song changed to a traditional Laendler waltz. The children seemed drawn to it and Kurt asked her to help him learn it. It had been a long time since she had danced the Laendler and she wasn't sure if she would remember all the intricate steps to it, but he pleaded with her so that she couldn't say no to him. She began to show him, but the height difference made it difficult for them to maneuver the turn under. It was then that she heard a familiar voice say, "Do allow me, will you," and her heart immediately stopped. Standing before her with his outstretched hand was the Captain smiling, his eyes urging her to take his silent invitation. She stared at him wide eyed and realized he was waiting for her. She put her hand in his and felt a shock wave of indescribable feelings flood over her. She then felt her body relax and smiled back at him letting her feet happily follow his lead. She found herself lost in the pure joy of the moment and completely trusting him to lead her through the waltz. _I would follow him anywhere,_ she thought and was immediately amazed at having such a thought enter her mind, wondering where it came from. _What was it about him that elicited such feelings and thoughts from me?_ He turned and she followed, reaching over his shoulder with the sudden realization that the dance was in the final sequence of moves and that this was a courtship dance that ended with a kiss between the partners. She wondered if he would actually end it that way with her and the thought scared her and made her nervous. As they entered into the final set of spins she became very aware of how close their bodies were and when she looked up into his eyes she saw a desire there that she had never witnessed before in them. The familiar sensation of her head spinning and her knees going week began to creep over her and she felt the sudden need to put distance between herself and him. She backed away slowly, his fiery intense gaze never leaving her. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks and it was Brigita that pointed it out. She moved her hands to her face in an attempt to cover it up, but he had seen it anyways and was now tenderly smiling at her with that same intense gaze. It was only when Baroness Shraeder spoke up that the moment was broken between them and she felt uneasy and embarrassed that she had been caught entangled in the arms of the Baroness' almost fiance. The Captain's demeanor instantly changed and he announced that it was time for the children to say goodnight. Relief encompassed her at the chance to escape the uncomfortable moment and she ran out with the children to prepare them for the surprise they had worked on for all the guests.

She entered the ballroom avoiding eye contact with him to announce that the children would like to say goodnight to all the guests. As they all flooded into the hallway she tried to hide behind a pillar wanting to this to be a shining moment for the children and not herself. As they sang she felt a sense of love and pride in them and was amazed by how far they had come from the first time she had taught them to sing. They were all naturals which made sense knowing that both of their parents were musically inclined. They really were quite remarkable she mused. As Gretl finished her part she could see out of the corner of her eye that the Captain was looking in her direction with a nervous smile, but she avoided looking at him preferring instead to keep her focus on the children. As the children faded out of sight though and the guests all waved to them she turned to unexpectedly meet his gaze. The smile was gone from his face and she was having a difficult time reading his eyes, but thought she caught a short glimpse of concern, worry, and something else she couldn't identify. It seemed as if he was pleading with her for something, but she didn't know what. Her thoughts were interrupted by others as they turned to shower her with compliments on how well she taught the children. She tried to escape the scene, but before she could she was drawn back in by Max insisting that she join the party. She caught a glimpse of the unhappy look on the Baroness' face and tried to avoid eye contact with her. _Why is Max doing this to me,_ she thought and silently hoped that the Captain could see the look of dismay and embarrassment on her face, but he seemed oblivious to it like he was working too hard to avoid the moment that had just occurred between them. He barely looked at her and she could sense that he was trying to avoid her as much as possible. She felt embarrassed and for the first time in a long time she felt disconnected from the Captain. She didn't want to join them and she certainly didn't want to be Max's dinner partner, she just wanted to go help with the children and be removed from the uncomfortable situation, but the Captain didn't even notice her distress and nonchalantly agreed to let her stay and join the party. She tried to make an excuse that she didn't have the proper clothes, but he still avoided her pleas and told her they would wait for her. She wanted to crawl away into a hole somewhere, but felt she now had no choice but to go change and come back down.

She entered her room relieved to have a few moments alone. She wasn't even sure what she was going to wear. She didn't have any fancy dresses like the other women and none of them in her wardrobe seemed appropriate for the occasion. She heard a faint knock at her door and beckoned her visitor to come in. It was Baroness Shraeder and she was immediately enveloped with that same uncomfortable feeling of uneasiness around her that she always felt when in her presence. She confided in her of her indecisiveness on what to wear, fearing she had nothing appropriate. Then she froze with fear, what had the Baroness just said... _couldn't keep his eyes off of me?_ She had to be joking. _In love with him? Him in love with me?_ Maria felt sick to her stomach, this just couldn't be, but it would explain all the strange desires that had been building up inside of her. She was confused, he couldn't be in love with me. He was suppose to be getting engaged to the Barroness. She suddenly wanted Barroness Shraeder to leave her alone, she felt embarrassed in front of her, _what she must think of me right now,_ she thought. She was relieved when the Baroness went back to the party leaving Maria to her own thoughts, promising not to mention their conversation to the Captain. _This can't be, I have to leave right away. This isn't why I came here. My goal was never to fall in love with him. I was suppose to reconnect him with his children and prepare the_ _m_ _for a new mother._ She continued packing what little she had brought with her into her carpetbag, trying not to let the tears that were forming in her eyes escape, but when she began to write her note to them she lost that battle and they came flooding out of her. She didn't want to go, but she couldn't stay either. She felt lost and confused and knew she had to escape back to the abbey. She couldn't stay in the same house with him knowing what she now knew. It would be awkward for everyone, for her, the Baroness, and him. Composing herself she left the room with all of her newer dresses still hanging in the armoire, she wouldn't need them at the abbey and they wouldn't allow her to keep them. She made her way down the stairs hoping to remain undetected and left the note on a table in the hallway. She climbed back up the stairs leading to the door, pausing she turned around taking one last sweeping look at the place she had called home for the past few weeks then opened the door and silently walked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Georg**

 _Finally,_ he thought, _I'm done greeting all these guests at the door._ He wasn't a fan of large parties and it was becoming harder and harder to distinguish a friend from a foe. This was really Elsa's party, she had insisted on it and he had never been comfortable in such a setting, but he endured it for her sake, putting a smile on while pretending he was enjoying it. It felt for the past few weeks now as if he were living in two separate worlds, one he used as an escape filled with distractions to keep him from remembering a life that seemed far in the past and another that filled him with a warm sensation of renewed love for his children, one that he nearly destroyed because he was too busy trying to distract himself from his own misery to be concerned with their hurt. He knew now that it had been utterly selfish of him, Fraulein Maria had helped him to see that. Drowning in his own pain he had neglected to see theirs and instead of losing one parent, they had lost two. He had shut them out for far too long and he no longer had the desire to do so, they were growing up way too quickly and if he wasn't careful he would let one of the biggest blessings in his life slip through his fingers. _I'll be forever grateful to her,_ he thought, _for standing up to me in such an unreserved manner and forcing me to see the joy in my children that I was missing out on._ Suddenly he felt out of place in Elsa's world of large parties every night, expensive dinners, and gallivanting around large cities from one opera house to the next. It was her world and he now wondered if marrying her was the right thing to do, not only for himself, but for his children as well. Would she fit into their world of picnics and singing and bicycle rides or would she miss all of the large parties and the hustle and bustle of activities that came with large city aristocratic living? He snickered, he had once called all that activity a life full of purpose. Marrying her was what everyone expected though, they were of the same class and position in society and had been seeing one another for some time now. He almost felt he had an obligation to marry her, but did he love her? She was a beautiful woman, very elegant with a great amount of poise and class, but he wasn't sure that love was what he felt for her and he felt a growing desire inside of him to want the kind of unbridled passion he had experienced with his first wife, someone to share all of life's adventures with. _Agathe would have wanted me to find that again. She would have been ashamed at my treatment of the children...I'm ashamed of it,_ he thought.

He sighed and looked up to see Elsa chatting with an elderly couple and took the opportunity to try and escape for a brief few minutes of air. He put on a fake smile and headed into the ballroom, his thoughts drifting back to Maria. There was a simple innocents and beauty about her that intrigued him, one that went much deeper than her physical appearance though he found that pleasant as well. Over the past weeks he had been drawn to her intoxicatingly quick witted humor and lively loving spirit. Her love for life was contagious and he came to the realization that he didn't want her to return to the abbey in the fall, but he had no reason to keep her here, especially if he married Elsa. He meandered towards the doors that led to the terrace, smiling and nodding as he went to the guests on the dance floor. He turned around to see the subject of his musings trying to dance with Kurt, or struggling to dance to be more accurate. He wasn't sure what came over him in that moment, his mind flashed back to the night he sang Edelweiss for the children and his focus had left them and had landed on his governess, who he couldn't keep his eyes off of. He was mesmerized by her, she was beautiful, stunning really in that blue dress and in a different way from Elsa. There was a beauty about her that went much deeper than her physical features. She was refreshingly honest and the first person in a long time who wasn't afraid to stand up to him and he admired that fiery spirit about her. He realized the first night she had dinner with them when she had sat on that ridiculous pine cone and then proceeded with the guilt trip act on the children that she was going to be different from the other governesses. He found himself sliding his gloves on, thoughts of her bringing a daring smile to his face stemming from a growing desire to be closer to her.

He tapped his son on the head asking him to allow him to dance with Fraulein. Kurt moved away turning to watch them. He held his hand out to her and for a split second wondered as she timidly gazed at him if she would take it. Gingerly she put her hand in his and he was relieved that even though she displayed a surprised and confused look on her face that she trusted him enough to let him lead her. At her touch he felt a stream of emotions move through him, emotions that he hadn't experienced since his late wife had passed. Her expression of uncertainty slowly faded to a smile and he felt her relax. She was lovely the way she spun around effortlessly, it seemed so natural to be out here with her compared to the stuffy ball room filled with people he barely knew pretending to be this and that with embellished gossiping stories that he would rather not be privy to. What was it about this woman that electrified his soul, filling his heart with such contentedness that he kept being drawn back for more? He clapped his hands and spun around reaching over his shoulder to grab her hand. He smiled when he felt her hand land in his and pulled her around to face him. She remembered more of the dance than she wanted to admit. Suddenly the dance became much more intimate and he was close enough to smell her scent of rosewater. It was an intoxicating scent that caused him to gaze at her with such an intensity that he could feel the familiar sensation of nervous butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach. For the first time the thought occurred to him that he wanted to kiss her. The dance should have ended in one and for a brief moment he thought he saw the same desire in her eyes, but as they looked upon one another the turning slowly came to a halt. He felt his arms drop to his side and achingly so the contact between them was dissolved as he watched her back away from him. Her eyes stayed on him and all he could do was stare at her until Brigitta broke the silence pointing out Maria's blushing face. He smiled, it wasn't just him who had felt the incredible connection. She had been affected by it as well, but what did all mean? He didn't have time to contemplate it all. His head jerked as he heard Elsa's voice say what a lovely couple they made. Embarrassment flooded over him as he remembered where he was and why he was there. He had been so lost in Maria that he had forgotten about Elsa and guilt took over his consciousness. Wasn't it time for the children to say goodnight? Yes, he used that as his excuse to diffuse the awkward situation between these two women and himself, hoping that his children hadn't noticed anything odd. They ran off through the garden with Maria whispering words of excitement over their surprise that was to come. Georg turned to head back into the party linking arms with Elsa. _Heaven only knows what she must be thinking right now,_ he thought. He barely heard her say something about not finding a friend at the party and he couldn't help but turn around and look where Maria had just been his head still spinning. His attempt at small talk over the weather had failed when Elsa cut back with a spitfire response, which he pretended to ignore by smiling and nodding.

Maria appeared beckoning them all into the hallway for a special goodnight from the children. He shrugged, trying to push what had just happened to the back of his mind. He grabbed Elsa's hand and made his way to the front of the crowd. He noticed Maria trying to inconspicuously hide behind a pillar to the side of the room. He drew his eyes away from her fearing that they would reveal more than he wanted them to. He concentrated on his seven beautiful children singing in front of him, but his thoughts weren't completely with them and he had to work hard to keep his gaze from wandering. This was Elsa's party and he didn't want to make her feel awkward or put off by him in front of all these people. He was doing fairly well at not looking in her direction until after Gretl sang her part. He turned his head in her direction briefly, but her focus was on the children which he was grateful for. He knew that her experiences with these kinds of feelings were almost non existent, or limited at best, and he did not want to scare her. She probably wasn't even fully cognizant about what had just happened between them and quite frankly he wasn't so sure himself.

The music ended and all the guests waved farewell to the children as they disappeared into their wing of the house. The crowd started to dissipate and then it happened, for what seemed like an eternity he locked eyes with hers. At that moment he realized that he loved her, but when he looked at her all he could see was fear in her eyes, eyes that were the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen. They usually had a sparkle in them that made his heart sore, but now it was replaced with worry, confusion, and unanswered questions, almost pleading with him for something. He couldn't look at her anymore fearing that his eyes might reveal something he wasn't ready for them to. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable or scared of him and this was neither the time or place to reveal such thoughts so he broke contact with her and turned to the other guests as they complimented him on his children. For Elsa's sake and his sanity he decided to pretend to be unaffected by it. He didn't want to bring embarrassment onto Elsa's shoulders in front of all the guests; again, not the time nor place. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Max grab Fraulein Maria and before he knew it he was agreeing to let Maria stay for dinner. Secretly a part of him wanted her to stay even though he knew it might be uncomfortable for her and he should probably let her off the hook. She tried to make an excuse about not having anything to wear, but not wanting to let on what he was feeling in that moment he absent-mindedly agreed to wait for her. That was the last time he would see her. She never came back for dinner and he was filled with guilt and worry throughout the rest of the evening and failing miserably at trying not to show it.

When the last guest had said their goodbyes and Elsa and Max had retired for the night he found himself standing alone in the foyer. His eyes shifted around the room and landed on the nearby table. His eyes floated to the handwriting on the envelope and he recognized it right away to be that of Maria's. He tore it open, his hands shaking as he did so and his eyes darting across the words. His heart immediately sank. She was gone and he couldn't help but think that he had been responsible for her sudden departure, that maybe he really had scared her away. His shoulders slumped and he walked into his study, closing the door behind him, to try and compose his thoughts. He was determined to not let his demeanor towards his children slip back into what it was before Maria had entered their lives, but where Maria was concerned he knew he loved her and he was confused because he thought he had seen a small glimpse of that same desire in her eyes earlier that night. Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps it was him just wanting to see it and believe it was there. His heart ached more than it should have at her departure. She was gone now and he would have to continue on with just a memory of her, apparently she made her choice and it wasn't them. He stood up straight and resolved to not let it affect him. He took those feelings rising up within him and did what he was use to doing when heartbroken, he buried them down deep and tucked them safely away in a place where he could pretend they didn't exist. Elsa was still here, perhaps that was life's destiny for him, a marriage to someone who he was fond of and not in love with, but would be approved of by society's standards. He opened the door to his study made the slow climb up the stairs to his bedroom, sleep would not come easy for him tonight and he knew that tomorrow would be a long day having to explain to his children that their beloved governess had left them...had left him. He didn't even bother to change, he laid down on his bed and as hard as he tried to push the thoughts of her out of his mind, he couldn't and it was a long while before he drifted into a restless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Elsa Part 2**

Elsa couldn't help but notice the change in Georg's mood. Just a few nights ago she had scared Maria into leaving her position as governess. He tried to hide his somber mood, but despite his attempts she could still sense it. Just last night they had decided to make that leap into wedded bliss, but the bliss part was considerably absent from Georg's demeanor. It was one of the oddest proposal's she had ever heard of and was done in such a fashion that it came out utterly unromantic.

 _He didn't even get down on one knee for the proposal,_ she thought. He had simply told her that he thought it was time that they made it official. Devoid really of a lot of the emotion that a woman would expect from a man proposing to her. There hadn't even been a ring, just a promise to go shopping for one at a later date.

She sighed hoping that he would soon forget about Maria and that she might be able to get him back into the person he was. She missed the man who would playfully taunt her, the man who was always up for escorting her to huge parties. She still couldn't help but think about how much he had changed in such a short time.

She had been playing ball with the children for what seemed like an eternity. She was trying to make an effort to get to know them, but she couldn't keep their names straight. There must be an easier way to win the affection of these children, but all she could think of every time they passed the ball to her was how she could never live up to Maria in their eyes. No, she wasn't Maria and there was no point in pretending to be. She wasn't made for motherhood and the more she thought about it the more she knew that boarding school was her only option. It would take some coaxing to get Georg to agree to it, but perhaps she could get him to see it her way eventually and then maybe, just maybe, he would return to the man she loved in Vienna.

The children finally asked for a break and she was relieved to stop playing that awful and boring game with them. _I don't know how Maria does it,_ she thought, but then Maria was much younger than herself and much more energetic. For the first time since Maria left she found herself wishing that the governess was still here to deal with the children so she didn't have to, but the bigger part of her was glad that she was gone, knowing that Georg's growing fondness for the governess would be curbed without her around, or at least she hoped so.

She sat across from Max who was trying in earnest to cheer the kids up. He finally managed to get them to sing, but she could tell that their hearts were not in it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Georg come wandering out of the house and she saw him visibly sigh at the sight of his heartbroken children. She couldn't help but wonder if he too was feeling some of the same melancholy at the sudden loss of their favorite governess.

She couldn't help but notice how strange and awkward his demeanor was. The children wanted to talk about Maria, but he was avoiding the topic like the plague. The few times she had attempted to question him about Agathe he had done the same, making it very clear that it was not a touchable subject. It made her feel uncomfortable and she kept trying to change the topic by idly making comments about the pink lemonade, but neither the children or Georg had given her much thought. What was it about this woman that kept them all so mesmerized by her? Even she though had to admit that Maria had a certain charm about her that was undeniably infectious.

 _He just needs time,_ she thought, _he'll forget her eventually._ Somewhere deep down inside her though she wondered if that was true and as much as she tried to convince herself of it she couldn't help but wonder if he would always have a place in his heart for Maria. Would he ever be able to give all of himself to her?

She watched Georg carefully as he fielded their questions and then Gretl finally asked who their new governess was going to be. She watched as Georg put his hands down on the table and stood to tell them they were going to have a new mother adding that they were all going to be very happy as if he was trying to convince himself as well as the children.

She couldn't help but notice the surprised look on their faces as they just stood their trying to take it all in. They definitely didn't look very approving of this new development and the idea of boarding school suddenly became that much more of an appealing idea. One by one they slowly came up and placed a kiss on her cheek and she was relieved when Georg sent them all off to play.

She had hoped to be able to spend more of her day with her new fiance, but she was quickly disappointed when he excused himself and retreated back into his study for the rest of the afternoon emerging only briefly when he realized that the children were late for their dinner claiming he had a lot of business to attend to.

She was inside the parlor reading when she heard a loud commotion coming from outside and realized that the children must have returned. Thinking dinner would soon be served she got up to go and change, but then she almost froze in her tracks when she saw all seven children come clamoring inside. There in Friedrich's hands was a familiar looking guitar case and in Kurt's a carpetbag.

 _It can't be,_ she thought, _but it certainly appears to be._ Her eyes drew away from the kids to the open door leading out onto the veranda. She willed herself to move to see what she was afraid to. Composing herself with pure self determination she walked to the door and exited out. There stood Maria, the object of her fiance's attention and she couldn't help but notice how Georg was staring at her.

She noted that Maria didn't look at all happy and she must have been told about the engagement. The woman looked absolutely forlorn while Georg's face told a story of confusion and surprise. She interupted the gaze between them feeling that she needed to break their attention from one another. That pang of jealousy had now returned and was intensified. She felt the need the need to move in on her territory.

"Fraulein Maria, you've returned." She quickly took her place next to Georg joining with his hand. She wanted to make sure that Maria knew that Georg belonged to her. He was her fiance and she suddenly felt very possessive of him yet nervous all at the same time. Yes she had received the message loud and clear and she was congratulating them. She felt a small bit of sympathy for Maria, but it was short lived.

Elsa's smile quickly drained from her face as Georg dropped her hand and turned to Maria asking if she was going to stay. She could see the hurt and concern in his eyes as she replied that she would only stay until another governess could be found. She could see the struggle within him playing out in that moment and noticed that he could barely turn his gaze away from Maria. It was in that moment that Elsa knew in her heart that she had lost the battle for his affection. His heart belonged to Maria and the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her deep down that he would never feel that way about her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Maria Part 2**

Maria was alone in her small room at the abbey. She thought that being back there would bring her comfort, but so far all it had done was make her heart ache more. She wanted to be alone and had kept herself in seclusion hoping that her prayers would be heard and that God would alleviate some of the stressful pain she was experiencing. She had been praying nonstop for the past few days now and her heart was still very heavy.

She thought about the children often and every time she did all she could see was their father's face and she wondered if he would ever stop haunting her dreams. She had cried herself to sleep almost every night and had yet to come out of her room, instead preferring to be alone. The words of the baroness ran swiftly through her head, was it true did she really love him like she had said she did and if so did he really love her?

Even if it were true she couldn't understand what difference it would make. She had been sent to the home to help prepare the children for a new mother and she didn't want to be the cause of them not receiving that good fortune. She was tied to God and had made a promise to serve Him and only Him. It was never meant for her to fall in love with the Captain so she felt that she had made the right decision about leaving.

Still she did miss the children horribly so and that only added to her current state of grief. They would move on eventually and forget about her. She kept reminding herself that it was never meant to be a permanent position for her. She was suppose to only be there until the end of summer anyways. She could feel the hot tears fill her eyes again and threaten to brim over. If she wasn't praying then she was crying.

She had told the Reverend Mother that she didn't want to see anyone, but in reality she couldn't face any of the other sisters because she knew that they would bombard her with questions, questions she wasn't quite ready to answer and wasn't sure that she would ever be able to. It was surprise to her when out of the blue the Reverend Mother had called for her.

The walk to the Reverend Mother's office was a long one and with each step she took Maria became more and more apprehensive and nervous, she felt as if all of her confidence had left her. She was embarrassed and didn't know what to tell the Reverend Mother. _Oh what could she possibly think of me,_ thought Maria, _how can I possibly face her after I tell her the truth of what happened and she'll surely look on me with disapproval._ She didn't know how else she could look at her, she had after all not be sent to the von Trapp's villa to find a husband.

She anxiously awaited to enter the Reverend Mother's office and finally the door opened revealing a new postulant on her way out. Maria walked in and took a seat. She stared down at her hands nervously and awaited the barrage of questions she was sure were coming. She didn't want the Reverend Mother to think that they had done something unkind to her because that wasn't the case at all and then she asked a question that Maria had been dreading.

"What is it that you can't face?"

Without thinking she did what she was always use to doing and blurted out that it was him that she couldn't face again. She kept staring straight ahead, not wanting to meet what she feared would be a disapproving glance from the Reverend Mother, but instead she quickly dismissed Sister Margaretta and asked the question that Maria had feared even more than the last.

"Are you in love with him?" Maria honestly didn't know how to answer that question because she had never been in love before, but when asked all she could see was the Captain's face in front of her and the tears began to creep back into her eyes and threaten to fall again. She was truthful with the Reverend Mother and told her she wasn't sure, but that there had been moments when she could hardly breathe while they looked at each other.

Maria didn't know what to think, now the Reverend Mother was telling her she needed to go back to the von Trapp home, but that was the last thing Maria wanted to do and she practically started begging the Reverend Mother to let her stay and take her vows. The Reverend Mother was having none of it and she told Maria that she had to face her problems and find her dreams, she had to find the life she was meant to live.

Maria had thought she had found it when she came to the abbey, but as reluctant and scared as she was a small part of her wanted to return. She missed the kids...she missed him. She knew the Reverend Mother was right, she had to find out.

An hour later Maria found herself back on the same bus that had taken her the first time to the von Trapp villa. Her head was filled with rapidly moving thoughts, _What if the children are upset with me for leaving? What if they are so mad that they don't want me back? What will I say to their father? What will he say to me? Will the Captain be happy to see me or will he keep me at arms length?_ Thought after thought and question after question kept randomly rambling through her head.

Her bus finally stopped and she walked the rest of the way on foot. When she got close enough she thought she could hear the faint sound of singing and then she saw them and one by one the children ran to her practically knocking her over. All her fears and questions about their acceptance of her return were answered in those brief few seconds of blissfulness.

She walked along happily with them chatting along with them and trying to keep up with all they were saying to her. She was happy to be back with them and then the blow came that sent her heart sinking into the pit of her stomach. She heard them tell her that their father was going to be married to Baroness Shraeder.

Maria felt like the wind had been knocked out of her and she stood there in shock until she heard the children shouting at their father. She wondered how much of the exchange that just took place he had witnessed, but she was too shocked and heartbroken to give it much thought.

She fought back the tears when she heard his rich baritone voice say, "Good evening." He sent all the children inside, but his eyes kept staring at her never even glancing once at the children whisking by him. She felt suddenly self conscience and braced herself for the questions she knew would follow.

She didn't want to answer his questions, none of it mattered anymore. His heart was pledged now to the baroness and she felt an urgency to escape to her room. She feared that he could read right into her soul, his gaze upon her was so intense that she just wanted to escape inside and out of site until dinner.

Baroness Shraeder came out and the Captain's eyes upon her were abruptly interrupted. Maria was thankful for the timing and she made her best effort to congratulate them and make it sound sincere. She briskly walked up the steps hoping to make it inside before the tears started to fall again, but the Captain stopped her and she worked very hard to keep her composure as she told him she would only stay until another governess came. She couldn't stay under the same roof with the man who had her heart, but was giving his to another. Perhaps she had been wrong and the baroness was right that he would forget her soon enough.

She turned back around swiftly and hurried into the house not wanting to meet his eyes again. As soon as her feet crossed the threshold to the house she headed straight to her room flinging herself on her bed and letting out all the emotions that had been bubbling up inside of her. Ten minutes later she stood up wiped her tears away and began to dress for dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

**Georg Part 2**

Georg had been using the excuse of needing to get work done for almost a week now, preferring to stay in the hollows of his study for most of the day as opposed to the company of Elsa and Max and even the children. He found himself trying to avoid the inevitable of having to go shopping for a ring for Elsa and he still hadn't made it known to the children that they had decided to get married. He told himself that they needed time to adjust to not having Maria around first, but who was he kidding, he needed time for that adjustment as well.

Truth be told, he really wasn't swamped with work, he just wanted some time to himself. He was trying to make an effort to not slip back into the man he was with his children before Maria had arrived, but he was failing miserably at it and thought it best if he just kept to himself for awhile until he could get his thoughts and feelings under control.

As much as he tried to occupy his mind with other things, it was Maria who kept creeping back into his thoughts. He loved her, he knew that for certain now and he thought that she had similar feelings for him, but if that was the case then why did she run back to the abbey? If he had known the kind of affect dancing with her would have then he might have resisted the temptation to join her. He would have gladly avoided the dance in order to assure that she remained with them, but he couldn't go back and change that now.

He sat at his desk and buried his face in his hands trying to clear his head. _How did all this happen,_ he thought to himself. Just at the beginning of summer it had been expected that he would marry Elsa before the summer ended. He had even brought her back to the villa to meet the children, but upon his return he was met with an awakening from his governess. Everything had changed from that moment on and he had found his thoughts being consumed by the young governess more and more even with Elsa close by.

He wondered how much Elsa was aware of his new found affections for Maria. He silently hoped that he hadn't given himself away to her, but he suspected that she had her suspicions after she caught them dancing together.

 _The dance,_ he thought. How lovely it had been to have that physical contact with her. He closed his eyes and thought back to the most wonderful memory he had of her. He had danced with her because of an agonizing desire to want to be closer to her and how mesmerizing it was to hold her delicate hands and twirl her around the terrace, her face smiling back at him with surprise and delight. The smell of her was intoxicating as they embraced more intimately gazing into each others deep blue eyes.

He opened his eyes and slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration. He had wanted to kiss her in that moment and he might have had she not moved away, but now he would never have the opportunity. He silently cursed himself for not having shared those feelings with her sooner. She didn't belong cloistered away behind the walls of the abbey, shutoff from the rest of the world. She was too vivaciously full of life to live in a manner that would leave her electrifying energy and beautiful spirit hidden forever behind those walls.

He stood up and sighed, taking a deep breath. He couldn't keep himself hidden away in his study forever. Perhaps some interaction with Elsa and Max would be a good idea, maybe it would help his mind to not be so occupied with thoughts of her.

He needed some fresh air, he suddenly felt too confined by the walls of his study. He made his way out the door and headed for the veranda. As he exited the house he froze in his steps as he heard the children singing. They sounded good as always, but there was something missing. It was as if they had the life sucked out of them. The happy sound that was normally there was gone and replaced with a more melancholy strain.

He noticed Brigita breakaway from the group unable to sing any longer. The others followed one by one dropping out. The children were unable to hide their pain from the loss of their favorite governess. He sighed, _how can I help them when I can't even help myself?_ He tried to encourage them to no avail to keep singing, but it was no use and he couldn't blame them.

He sat down and stared at the pitcher sitting in front of him. He shuddered when he was offered some of the pink concoction. He didn't want any of it, he only wanted one thing and he knew that wasn't going to happen.

The children suddenly began bombarding him with questions about Maria, questions he didn't want to answer. That pink lemonade suddenly looked a lot better. He was trying to forget about her and the children were making it difficult for him. In frustration he slowly stood when Gretl asked about a new governess. It was at that moment he decided to tell them about his engagement to Elsa. Perhaps if he made it official to everyone it would help them all to move on.

" _..._ and we're all going to be very happy." He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince the children or himself more. He watched as they one by one kissed her on the cheek ending with Kurt who lingered before being shooed away to go play.

Sitting back down he briefly stayed with Max and Elsa on the veranda trying hard to engage them in conversation, but he soon became bored with their company and excused himself back into the depths of his study with a promise to take Elsa shopping for a ring the next day.

He didn't realize how long he had been in his study until he looked up at the clock and saw the time. It was almost time for dinner and he frowned. He hadn't heard from the children all afternoon and he wondered where they possibly could have run off to. They were late and they were never late for dinner.

He walked outside and saw them all meandering towards the villa, their sad faces hanging down telling a story of defeat. He knew they had left the grounds without permission and he had an idea or two about where they had wandered off to, but the father in him decided to make them sit on edge with anxiety over it for a little while.

He couldn't help himself. It was the most fun he had all week watching them squirm and he had to stifle his amusement at Friedrich's little fib. _Blue strawberries indeed,_ he chuckled to himself as the rest of the group rolled their eyes at the absurdity of his comment.

 _Fine then,_ he thought, _if they won't confess to going to Nonnberg then I can play this little game as well._ No dinner for them since they were so full of blue strawberries. He turned to look at their faces as he went up the steps into the house and he couldn't help but snicker a bit at their wild excuses. A part of him was proud of them for sticking together like they did and another wished they had been more truthful because he really wanted to know if they had actually seen her. A pang of jealousy swept through him at the thought of it. They must have been refused though or they wouldn't have looked so forlorn.

He went off to tell the cook to go ahead and prepare the dinner because the children were back. He really had become quite soft with them since Maria's revelation and he could no more keep dinner from his hungry brood then he could keep himself from thinking about Maria.

He had only been in the kitchen for about five minutes when he heard the very distinguishable sound of happy singing and laughter coming from outside along with a very distinct voice that he would recognize anywhere.

 _It can't be,_ he thought and he practically ran out onto the veranda to see what all the commotion was about. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her and he couldn't keep his eyes off her fearing that maybe she was just an illusion.

He had caught the tail end of the children telling her about his and Elsa's engagement. He couldn't help but notice her look of shock. The smiles on her face drained in an instance and she seemed lost. The children finally spotted him and started shouting, but he hardly noticed them and continued to stare at her even as he told them that dinner would be served after all. He barely felt them whisk past him in their joyous state.

They were alone now and he had questions he wanted answered, that he needed answered. Why did she run away? He asked her, but he couldn't get a truthful straight forward response from her and her notably changed demeanor puzzled him. Could she possibly feel the same way he did?

Elsa came out and the mood was changed instantly and he was slightly frustrated for the interruption, hoping that he could drag more out of her, but it would have to wait for now. She congratulated them, but he could see she was working hard to put a smile on her face. As she brushed past them he had to know if she was going to stay. She turned and in that moment he could see that the pain in her eyes matched that of his by her answer. He stared after her before he realized that Elsa was still standing there and he turned to grab her hand and walk back inside.

He was confused about what to do and hurt by her response at staying, but he needed time to think it through. He knew it wouldn't be fair to any of them, Elsa, Maria, or himself to keep up the current facade and that in the long run he couldn't be married to someone he didn't love with all his being when their was someone else he was in love with and with whom he was almost sure returned that love. He had to figure out a way to get her to change her mind and stay at least for the children, if not for him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Elsa Part 3**

Elsa searched through her wardrobe looking for the perfect dress to show off her figure for dinner. Even though she knew that she had probably lost Georg's heart she wasn't going to go down without one last final fight and she was going to go down on her terms and not his. She pulled out a gorgeous red gown that showed off all of her curves in the right places.

She really did love him, but it wasn't the kind of love she had shared with her first husband, _that was a once in a lifetime kind of love,_ she thought. She wasn't sure if she would ever experience that kind of love again and she envied Maria for having elicited those feelings in Georg; for having been the one to break him down and bring those long buried emotions to the surface. Maria had managed to break through his facade in two short month's where she had failed to do it in 2 years.

She hurried to clean up and get dressed almost dreading going down for dinner. She had been avoiding Georg for the past few hours since Maria had returned. In the deep down parts of her inner being she knew that she was putting off the inevitable of breaking off their engagement, but she couldn't help to hold out some bit of hope that perhaps it wouldn't happen.

She entered the dinning room. All the children were already seated along with Max, but neither Georg or Maria had entered yet. She looked around at all of the children and she suddenly realized how out of place she seemed to be in a family with seven of them. She had no children of her own and really hadn't the faintest notion of what it meant to be a mother. She had no experience with them whatsoever and saw them as more of a hindrance to her lifestyle than anything else.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Georg arrive and then Maria entered right behind him. It did not go unnoticed by Elsa that Maria was wearing the blue dress that Georg so unabashedly could not keep himself from sneaking looks at. She could tell that the usual spring in Maria's step was missing from the normally cheerful governess. They both took their seats at the table and soon the blessing was being asked and dinner was being served.

Dinner was a quiet affair and she tried feebly to make small talk, but Georg would just smile and nod at her and Maria just kept staring at her plate. Not even the children or Max, who were normally quite chatty, dared to speak. It was as if they knew that something wasn't quite right with their father's demeanor and none of them wanted to be so daring as to challenge him with their idle talk. They appeared to be happy though, devouring their schnitzel and noodles like they hadn't been fed in months.

Throughout dinner she couldn't help but notice that Georg's gaze would shift from his plate to the other end of the table. She could tell he was deep in thought and it made her extremely nervous. Maria she noticed was avoiding him at all cost and she wondered what was going through her head at that moment. She noticed a look of sadness displayed in Maria's normally sparkling eyes and a small pang of guilt flooded over her as she remembered the conservation they had the night Maria had left. She wasn't worried about Maria telling Georg of their conversation because she thought Maria would probably be too embarrassed to share that with him.

Maria suddenly stood up and dismissed herself. Elsa observed that she had hardly touched any of the food from her plate. Shortly after, Georg stood and likewise dismissed himself from the table. Elsa noted how lost they both looked. She finished her meal and decided to go in search of Georg. She realized she couldn't avoid him forever and she decided that if he wanted to break off their engagement that she would not be the one to initiate that conversation. He would have to be the one to do that.

She had looked everywhere on the first floor so she climbed the steps to the second to continue her search, half fearing what she might find. Looking towards the balcony doors she spotted him staring out over the balustrade deep in thought. She strode out to where he was, disrupting his thoughts by speaking to him before she realized where, or rather who his gaze was drawn to.

He immediately stood up straight when he heard her voice and Elsa saw the look of surprise and embarrassment on his face at being caught watching Maria. She couldn't help it, she did the only thing that she could in the moment and that was to start nervously talking. She usually wasn't one to ramble on and on, but it just seemed to spill out of her.

She desperately tried what she had been trying to do all evening, to get his attention, but she was failing miserably at it. She could tell his focus was elsewhere and it wasn't hard to figure out where. In a last ditch effort she continued to talk about the honeymoon and gifts until she heard him barely audibly say her name, but even then she kept going ignoring his first plea.

He finally jolted her from her blubbering foolishness and she was forced to face him and the inevitable. She was determine to not let him see her cry even though she could already feel her eyes brimming with tears. She managed to hold them back though and she spoke up before he could get too far into his speech about love and marriage. She knew that if she continued to let him talk that she might not be able to hold back those tears.

She wanted to go out on her terms, but also to let him know in some small way that she was aware of his feelings and really wanted him to just be happy. Deep down inside of her she knew that they really didn't match each other very well. He was not the same man that she met in Vienna, she knew that the man standing before her now was the real Georg von Trapp, the one who had been hidden from the world after his wife had died. Little by little Maria had brought that hidden side of him back and she couldn't compete with her for his affections. He loved his children deeply and he needed someone who was going to love them as much as him. That was something that she knew she could never give him.

She bowed out gracefully and giving him one last kiss on the cheek she hurried herself back inside before the first tear began to fall. She would quietly pack her things and head back into town tonight, staying at a hotel in Salzburg before heading back to Vienna in the morning. She could not stay the night knowing that he was probably about to confess his love to Maria, but in some small way she was happy for him and really did wish them all the best that life could offer them. Maria didn't belong locked away in an abbey for the rest of her life and even she knew that.

Without even looking back she closed the door to the villa behind her hoping to find her open window sooner rather than later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Maria Part 3**

Maria quickly retreated into the washroom where she washed her face off, hoping to erase all evidence of the tears that had just been falling. Looking in the mirror, she stared at the face before her and sighed, _why would I even think that there was_ _a_ _chance he would love me back? The baroness must have been right, he did get over_ _it_ _soon enough._

She just wasn't as sophisticated and worldly as Baroness Shraeder was and the Captain couldn't possibly desire someone who was not of the same class as himself. Who was she to think that she might possibly fit into his world?

She walked back into her room and opened up her wardrobe. She really didn't have anything appropriate enough to wear for dinner, but her eyes finally fell on the blue dress she had worn the night that the Captain had sang Edelweiss. She closed her eyes and remembered how he had kept watching her and how lost in his sea blue eyes she had become. He wasn't the only one that night who had trouble keeping their eyes off of someone. It had been the first time that she had felt her breath be stilled by his gaze.

She fingered the soft fabric and decided to pull it out and wear it. It was really the only thing she had that was appropriate enough to wear. The thought occurred to her that if she returned to the abbey then she would probably never wear such a dress again and she wanted to remember what it was like for years to come. There was also a small part of her that wanted to wear it just to defy the baroness, but she shoved that thought to the back of her mind and finished dressing for dinner.

She exited her room and headed down the stairs. When she hit the bottom step she looked up and could see the Captain entering the dinning room and she fought back at the lump forming in her throat. She wasn't sure how she was going to make it through dinner having to sit across from him and she decided that she would simply have to avoid looking at him. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally lock eyes with him. It was better to just not look.

She looked down at her plate and absentmindedly shoved the food around with her fork. She could feel his eyes boring down on her, but she continued to stare at her plate. Schnitzel and noodles was one of her favorite things to eat, but she really didn't feel like eating tonight. The food was the last thing on her mind. She was uncomfortable eating with the family for the first time since she had arrived at the villa. She felt out of place. This wasn't her family and she didn't belong here anymore.

The tension in the room was palpable, the only one daring to talk was the baroness and Maria was so lost in her own thoughts and miserable existence that she didn't even know what she was saying. She noted that even the Captain seemed quieter than normal and looked to be in almost a pensive state. The children, sensing that something was off, sat in silence gobbling up their food.

The dissident feeling in the room was starting to have an affect on her and she felt the need to get up and leave. Feeling lost and out of place she excused herself from the table, having only ate a few bites of her food, and exited the room.

She went up to her room and fell to her knees at her bed beginning to pray that the Lord would take these feelings and desires away from her heart. She didn't understand why God had brought her here anymore. The why had seemed so clear after she first came to the villa and now it was like looking into a pool of muddy water. There was no clear path to the bottom of it all and she wanted to leave again, to escape from having to watch a wedding being planned between the man she loved and another woman.

She continued praying that God would ease her aching heart, but it wasn't helping and the tears began to fall again in between her petitions. If she couldn't have him then she wanted the ache and longing for him to be alleviated. She wanted God to take the yearning pain and relieve her from it.

After several minutes she still wasn't feeling much better and she felt an immediate need for fresh air. She came out of her room and looked around downstairs. She did not want to run into anyone unintentionally, _especially him,_ she thought. Upon examining the scene and realizing the coast was clear she ran down the stairs and quietly shut the door behind her, not wanting anyone to see her.

As soon as the door was firmly shut behind her, her steps slowed and once again she felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. She tried to remember back on the past summer. She really was confused about it all. She was sure upon leaving the abbey to come back that they shared mutual feelings for one another and she wanted so badly to discover if it was true. Everything up to this point had seemed like one of Marta and Gretl's fairy tales, but now it was more like a nightmare.

She paused and looked out over the lake and a flood of memories washed over her, happy memories that were now a reminder of what she was losing. She thought of the children and how much she loved them, almost as if they were her own. She was going to miss them and the thought of leaving them was almost unbearable. She had seen them bloom over the past couple of months. They had gone from being little naval subordinates to being children who had learned how to laugh and have fun again, but most importantly children who had a renewed sense of their father's love, a love that they had so desperately desired and needed.

She looked down at the ground and continued wandering towards the gazebo, taking a seat on a nearby bench. _Their father,_ she thought to herself, _why can't I get him out of my thoughts?_ She sighed heavily, no matter how hard she tried to think of other things his face always reappeared in her mind.

She couldn't help it, as much as the children had changed perhaps the change in him had been even more prominent. When she had first arrived she had found that silly whistle of his most appalling and as intimidating as he tried to appear, she had been determined to not show how nervous she had been, instead matching him with her uncanny ability to say whatever was on her mind. It may not have been very prudent, but it had served its purpose well.

The day of the argument was the day she first had her eyes opened to the man the Captain once was and from that point on she began to get small glimpses of his old self. Her respect and admiration for him as a father and a man had begun to grow and eventually had turned to something more. _Oh why did I have to fall in love with him,_ she thought.

She had thought for the first time that maybe there was a life for her outside of the abbey and then within just a few short seconds it had been crushed. She had experienced her first love and first heartache all in one summer and it was so confusing and overwhelming. She wondered if the agony of her tormented soul would ever be completely healed. She never wanted to feel such misery again.

She was suddenly startled out of her anguished thoughts by the voice of the last person she wanted to face. Rising from her seat she stared back at him, _oh why won't he just leave me alone,_ she thought. She wasn't sure how much more affliction her tortured heart could handle.


	9. Chapter 9

**Georg Part 3**

Georg's head was spinning as he rushed to get ready for dinner. He looked at himself in the mirror for the one hundredth time, checking to make sure that his hair was combed neatly. He hadn't felt this nervous in years and he couldn't help but wonder if she had come back because of him. He had seen her of course walking up the landing with all the children. They seemed happy to start with and then her whole demeanor had changed in a matter of seconds after they had told her about his engagement. He had seen her shocked look at the news and a sudden distant glaze cover her eyes. His heart skipped a beat to think that maybe, just maybe, she returned his love.

He still was not sure what he was going to say to Elsa. He knew that no matter how he said it to her that it was going to hurt her, but it would hurt even more if he went through with the marriage and she found out later that his heart wasn't in it. He couldn't get married to someone who he wasn't in love with. He knew what it meant to love in a marriage relationship. He had that once and he didn't want to settle for anything less the second time around, if there was a second chance for him.

He straightened his tie and checked his hair once more, examining the gray that was creeping into the sides. Would it bother her to marry an older man with 7 children already? Did she even see him as being old? He certainly didn't feel old when he was around her, she made him feel young and alive again and he was in just as good a shape as he had been when he was 20 and in the navy.

Self doubts started permeating his thoughts, but he shook them off and smiled, _perhaps I am an old fool, but life is about taking risks and I have a drawer full of medals to prove that I've always been a risk taker,_ he thought. Love was the riskiest business of all. To lay your heart out on the line and take a leap of faith while risking rejection and hurt, was one of life's biggest risks.

One more glance in the mirror and feeling satisfied with what stared back at him he headed out his bedroom door and down to join the others in the dining room. Everyone was there already with the exception of Maria who followed him. He noted how deflated she looked, her shoulders slightly slumped and she kept her head staring at the ground. She sat down without even so much as looking at him and barely acknowledging everyone else.

Grace was said and they all began to eat. He tried to steal glimpses of her without giving himself away to Elsa. He didn't want her suspecting anything until he had a chance to talk with her. He shifted his eyes down to her end of the table without looking up. She was barely touching her food, preferring instead to push it around her plate with her fork.

She didn't seem to be her usual self and it hurt him to see that the sparkle in her eye was replaced with something else, _sadness,_ he thought, _melancholy, nervous_ _ness_ _._ He couldn't quite identify it, but whatever it was he couldn't stand seeing her that way. He wanted the old Maria back, the one who jumped at a pine cone and sang with a heart full of energy and a twinkle in her eye. The one who would smile at him from across a crowded room and fill his heart to the brim with the most beautiful warm sensations.

Elsa kept trying to make small talk with him, but his focus just wasn't on her. He was still trying to think about the current situation and how he was going to tell her about himself and Maria. He really didn't feel much like talking. He didn't want to play these games anymore and to pretend that he didn't having feelings for his governess. He felt trapped with Elsa it made him feel uneasy.

He noticed Maria get up from the table and excuse herself. She hadn't even eaten three bites of her food which was very unusual for someone who clained schnitzel and noodles were her favorite meal. He sat for a few more minutes eating and tyring not to reveal to Elsa what he was thinking.

He finally decided that he needed some fresh air and a place to clear his head. Dinner tonight was an almost insufferable affair. He headed upstairs and then quietly walked out onto the balcony. Looking below he saw her meandering around slowly, her golden hair reflecting a soft glow of moonlight.

He couldn't help but watch her, her simple natural beauty intrigued him and made his heart still. She stole his breath away whenever they were close to one another, but it was just as much her inward beauty that charmed him as it was her outward appearance. He noted how lost she looked and it pained him to see her walking with no purpose like the life had been sucked out of her.

 _She doesn't belong spending the rest of her life locked away in an abbey,_ he thought. She was too full of life, she had to much to give the world and it wasn't fair to waste so much talent and love.

"There you are." He jumped at the sound of Elsa's voice feeling like he had just been caught with his hand inside the cookie jar. He looked around trying not to make it obvious who the object of his musings was.

He could hear her rambling on about the honeymoon plans. He didn't really want to discuss it with her, but he was still a little unsure of how to approach the topic of marriage. He had finally had enough and he broke into her thoughts, getting her attention at his second attempt. He couldn't let the charade go on a second longer. He started to explain what he was feeling, but she quickly stopped him.

He couldn't believe it, she was letting him off the hook and then she totally took him by surprise, "and somewhere out there is a young lady who I think will never be a nun." It shouldn't have surprised him that she had noticed where his affections were focused. She was a smart woman and an observant one at that.

She bid him farewell and he watched her form gracefully retreat back inside before looking out over the lake and returning his thoughts back to Maria. He didn't want to put off talking to her, he had to find out tonight if what he suspected was true. He didn't want to scare her or lose her again, but he had to know.

He walked outside heading toward the gazebo where he had seen her walk to. The night air was cool, but the palms of his hands were sweating. He felt like a nervous school boy again on his first date. _Why am I so jittery,_ he thought, _this isn't your first time around the block,_ but he knew why. Maria was different. She had a warmth in her heart that melted him all over and he had first experienced that sensation the day she had made him realize that he was losing his children.

She was the only one that could get under his skin and get away with telling him like it was. She was his match in every way. She loved his children and had been the only one of the eleven other governesses to break through their hurt and rejection. She brought music and laughter back into their home and their was a simple innocence about her that made her that much more endearing to him.

The thought that perhaps he had read her wrong and maybe she didn't reciprocate his feelings for her suddenly crossed his mind. What if she was just sad because he was getting married and she would have to leave the children? He had to find out though and the naval captain in him who was a strategist would go on the offensive to try and get her to talk to him.

He didn't want to scare her away again so he decided he would play coy with her by asking her what he wanted to know. Why she left and why she came back. They wouldn't be interrupted this time and she would have no choice but to talk to him.

He was so nervous to talk to her that he couldn't keep his fingers still. He took those last few steps towards her and stopped at a tree to watch her. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest at the site of her that he thought he might give himself away before he was ready to. She was wearing that blue dress that he loved he so much on her. He watched her for a moment as she sat on the bench looking like she was deep in thought.

With one final sigh he summoned all of his courage and he called out to her, "I thought I just might find you here."


	10. Chapter 10

**Maria's and the Gazebo**

Maria stood up just staring at him before she finally found her voice to ask him if he wanted something. _What is he doing here,_ she thought, _shouldn't he be with the baroness?_ He motioned for her to sit back down and she complied watching him suspiciously. He looked a little uneasy as he looked around the lawn before taking a seat beside her and giving her a small smile. She noticed that he didn't seem his usual confident self, he seemed almost nervous and unsure of what he was doing there. Maria felt like it was taking him forever to speak.

 _He's probably going to try and get me to change my mind and stay, but I just can't._ She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay and watch him get married to another woman and it wouldn't be fair of him to ask her to do that.

There was space between them, but she felt a tightness in her stomach that caused her breathing to become shallow. He was so handsome in his dark suit and in the moment he seemed so endearingly boyish. It was very distracting and she became uncomfortably aware of the fact that for the first time since she had returned they were alone together. It didn't feel right knowing that the baroness was nearby inside the house. She wanted to flee again, but the words of the Mother Abbes drifted through her head. She had to face her problems.

She waited for him to speak, hoping that her eyes weren't revealing what was going on in her heart. He finally asked the two questions that she knew were coming. She couldn't look at him anymore, she was afraid that if he saw into her that he would instantly know that she was only being half truthful. She could feel his eyes boring down on her and it was almost too much to handle and then he caught her off guard by asking her if she only missed the children.

"No...yes..." Her heart skipped a beat when she realized the mistake she had made and she quickly tried to cover it up, praying silently that he hadn't noticed. His response to her caused her to look up at him again. She couldn't help it. She was drawn to his smooth voice and for a split second she thought he might actually be trying to confess something to her, but he seemed to be struggling with some inner battle. This was a side to him that she had never seen before, he seemed so lost for words and very nervous about something.

She was disappointed when he sheepishly backed away from her response and finally asked her if she would change her mind and stay. She sighed and rose from her seat, feeling the need to put more distance between herself and him and not wanting him to see the crestfallen expression on her face.

"I'm sure the baroness will make things fine for you." The words came flying out of her mouth before she could think about how she was saying them, but her heart was breaking and she didn't regret the sassy accusatory way she had expressed them.

She was hurting and she had never felt this way before and didn't know how else to respond. The thought of him with the baroness made her feel queasy and it tugged at her heart. She was angered at him for even asking that she stay, surely by now he knew that her feelings for him went much deeper than that of employer and employee and even more than mere friendship. He and Brigitta were much alike in that way, they both had an uncanny knack for noticing things that others might not.

 _How could he even ask me to stay, can't he see how unfair that would be to me?_

She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard him call her name so intimately. She heard him say something about how there wasn't going to be any baroness. Her head suddenly started spinning in circles, had he really just said what she thought he did? She could hardly bring her thoughts into focus when he told her that he had broken things off with the baroness.

"Oh, I'm sorry." It came out of her mouth as an automatic response without much thought. _Wait what did he just say,_ she thought. He seemed surprised by her reaction and she looked up at him in a state of utter shock, quickly adding, "You did?"

They were now standing in the gazebo and in that moment she became all to aware of just how close he had moved to her and her mind was reeling as he spoke his next words, "Well, you can't marry someone...when your in love with someone else, can you?" She stood there staring at him, completely dumbstruck and not able to take her eyes off of him. She feared that if she did the dream might end and all she could do was shake her head, the words not coming to her.

In an instant she felt his hand gently cup her chin and her breath quickened as her heart began pulsating faster in her chest, feeling as if it would explode. He pulled her gently towards him and she could feel that fluttering sensation return into the pit of her stomach. As their lips drew closer her eyes closed in anticipation and then they met in the simplest, but most gentlest, soft kiss.

She had never been kissed before and she felt a current of sensations take over her body that she had never experienced. The sensation of his lips pressed to her's caused her head to spin and she could smell the light intoxicating scent of his aftershave. Any doubts she may have had slowly melted away under his touch.

He broke away from her and she felt herself getting lost in his eyes and then it all became too much for her and she found herself going lightheaded when he began placing soft kisses on her forehead, causing her to go weak in the knees. She collapsed into his embrace as a wave of relief fell over her, laying her head on his shoulder and throwing her arms around him to steady herself. His body felt warm and inviting and she could feel his heart pounding in his chest just as loud as hers.

She started speaking to him about the wisdom that the Reverend Mother had imparted to her and he pulled her away to meet her eyes with his. Yes, she had definitely found her life and then she heard the words she had been longing to hear from him, "I love you." The sincerity of those three simple words were reflected in his eyes. Everything within her melted at that moment and the tears of heartache were replaced with tears of joy and happiness.

She felt the tickling sensation of his breath on her once more as he laid a trail of tender kisses across her soft skin and she found herself almost unable to breathe. The night air was cool, but all that Maria could feel was pure warmth from the inside out. She could feel herself becoming completely lost in the desires of her soul and it was all so completely overwhelming. She marveled at the fact that a man such as the Captain, so well versed in the proprieties of society, could love someone like her.

She broke away to look at him, but her hands remained connected with his as he carefully caressed them. She didn't want to let go of this moment; she didn't want to let go of him. She needed to feel the touch of his reassuring hands. They talked well into the night and she laughed when he said that he had started loving her the night she had sat on that pine cone. _What a spectacle that must have been,_ she thought. It was getting late and she knew that they both needed sleep and should probably head back to the house.

She threw her arms around him becoming more brave and initiated another kiss, where the first one was sweet and gentle, this one was more passionate and desires that she didn't even know existed grew deep down inside of her. They stood in the soft glow of the moon holding on to another when she heard him say something about marriage and it donned on her that he was asking if there was anyone he should ask permission to for her hand.

Her parents had died when she was very young and she had never had a family while growing up. There was only one person, or group of people, that she could think to ask and would definitely want approval from, "Well, why don't we ask...the children," they both finished in unison. Maria's window had finally been opened.


	11. Chapter 11

**Georg and the Gazebo**

Georg stood there for a moment before speaking to her, "I thought I just might find you here," He hadn't meant to startle her, but he could tell by the expression on her face that he was the last person she had been expecting to see.

He motioned for her to sit and then moved towards the bench. He couldn't believe how nervous he was and he still wasn't sure how she felt about him. He took a sweeping look around the grounds before sitting himself, making sure to leave some space between them. He felt like a teenager again on his first date. He knew that this was the point of no return. He needed to find out if his future could possibly be wrapped up in this beautiful woman sitting before him.

He turned to her and smiled, trying to ease the tension between them and praying silently that she could not read how nervous he was. He couldn't help but notice how apprehensive she seemed and he wanted nothing more than to reach out to her and ease all of the pain he saw in her eyes, but he refrained, not wanting to scare her too much.

The palms of his hands were sweating and he tugged at his ear anxiously before speaking to her. He had to know what she was thinking, did she miss him or was it just the children she came back for? Was she being distant because she would miss the children when returning to the abbey or was there more to it? Could she possibly dare to love a man like him? He had so many unanswered questions floating around in his head and he wasn't even sure where to begin.

He knew he loved her. He loved everything about her, the way she loved his children, her voice, for making him see that his children needed him, her innocence, her love for life, her energy, her passion, her soft touch when she had danced with him, her deep aqua blue eyes that shined brighter than any star in the night sky, for standing up to him, and for bringing music, love, and laughter back into his home and heart. He needed her and expressing his feelings to her was more than worth the risk.

He finally found his voice and began to ask her why she had left and comeback. He knew she would tell him that she had missed the children, but before he could think about what he was saying he blurted out, asking her if she only missed the children. His heart lifted a little and began to beat slightly faster when he realized he had caught her off guard and she responded with a no and then a quick yes.

 _It's now or never Georg,_ he thought. He fumbled around for the right words to say, not knowing quite what to say next. _What's wrong with me? Come on Georg your not a young school boy anymore and this isn't your first love,_ but he knew in his heart that Maria was different. She was like a delicate flower who was only beginning to bloom. He was more than likely the first person she had ever experienced anything like this with and he knew he had to be gentle with her.

He felt like a bumbling fool, why was this so hard to just come out and confess? He didn't want her to leave again, he wanted her to stay with them always. He gave up trying to say what he really wanted to tell her and changed course by asking her if she would change her mind and stay. He couldn't even look her in the eye when he asked, but at the last minute he turned and looked at her with a hopeful expression on his face.

She rose to move away from him and he instantly felt the distance between them, but when he heard her cheeky response about the baroness making things fine for him, he knew that all his questions had finally been answered in that one moment. He could hear the jealousy and hurt ring out in her words and wanted nothing more than to ease it and let her know that he was her's if she wanted him. He called out to her using only her name, the word fraulein wasn't needed anymore.

He stood up and made his move towards her, finally revealing to her that his engagement to Baroness Schraeder had been broken. He felt his heart skip a beat when she said how sorry she was to hear that. Could he have been mistaken about her feelings and not read them accurately? The words flew out of his mouth questioning her sincerity. When she looked up at him in surprise, he could see nothing but hope replacing the previous affliction in her eyes.

 _It's now or never,_ he thought as she gave him the final ounce of courage he needed to confess his feelings to her. He slowly walked around her as he told her in not so many words that he was in love with her. He looked at her and he could feel his heart racing with excitement. He looked in her eyes and then he slowly shifted his gaze to her lips. He couldn't resist them anymore and before he knew he was reaching for her chin and slowly drawing her closer to him.

His lips finally met hers in the gentlest of kisses and he could taste the sweet innocence of her soft, delicate lips. His head became suddenly lightheaded and he could feel her respond to him. He had dreamed about this, but nothing in his dreams could have prepared him for the surge of feelings that flowed through him in that moment. His heart was pounding so loudly in his chest that he knew she must have heard it and he was filled with a warmth that he knew could only come from her.

He parted from her all too soon and upon gazing into her eyes he could see the same longing and desires that he had, reflected in her's. He reached for her shoulders to tenderly move her closer to him, needing to touch her and feel her close to him. He tenderly planted a trail of kisses across her forehead until he felt her knees buckle and her body collapse into him, comfortably snuggling against chest.

He loved the feel of her fragile frame in his arms, but he gently lifted her back away from him, wanting to see her eyes as he said the words that he had been wanting to say to her all night, "I love you." She leaned into his touch again and he wondered at how fortunate he could be to have found that kind of love, not once in his lifetime, but twice.

He shuddered to think how close he had come to losing her. None of these feelings had ever been elicited in him by Elsa, she had been fun when he needed someone to help him forget, but it was Maria who had helped him to remember that he still had a life to live. She had opened his heart up again and had given him a reason to love, both his children and her.

She told him that she had started loving him the moment she heard him blow that silly whistle. He winced at the memory and how ludicrous he must have seemed to her. She was lovely in every way, inside and out. There was no doubt in his mind that she was sent to them by God to make their family whole again. She was the missing puzzle piece and he knew he wanted to marry her sooner rather than later. He had already wasted too much time sulking in the past. The children, they would ask the children for their permission to share her with him.

He couldn't take the temptation any longer as he gazed down into those blue eyes he could get so lost in so he closed the gap between them one more time and this time she threw her arms around his neck drawing him down towards her where there lips met once again with a kiss that was much more intense than the first. His heart was wildly beating as he felt her moist lips connect with his and his whole body shuddered as they melted together and he could feel her hands exploring his hair.

He didn't want it to end and he certainly didn't want to part from her, but he knew that they would need to return to the house soon so he gently pulled away and they began the deliberately slow walk back to the house. He marveled that he could be so blessed to be given someone that he totally did not deserve.

A few years ago it felt like a door had not just been closed, but rather slammed in his face and now he was standing in front of the biggest window he had ever seen with a view of the future that included the beautiful woman standing next to him and he was ready to openly leap through it with her, facing whatever might come there way together.


End file.
